When Plaka Souvlaki opened on Newark avenue, I was quite excited, not being too excited by Surf Taco, its predecessor, but more because I love Greek food and heard that they were serving souvlaki that is meat cooked on a skewer, not to be confused with gyro that is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie. My favorite meat? Lamb!

The place has been completely remodeled, bringing bright colors and a mediterranean feel to the place.

But let’s go back to the souvlaki. They have chicken, pork and beef/lamb ones, served in a pita with tomato, onion, fries and tzatziki sauce, and you can make it “Athens style” that is with their signature Greek Harissa (a spicy red chili sauce) and yogurt. The sandwiches are not that big, and have the right balance between meat and fries, the latter adding a bit of decadence to it, and used as a delicious filler. My favorite is definitely the beef/lamb and I just wished they would have one with just lamb. Know that if you do not want to have a sandwich, you can create your own plate with a protein (they have falafel for vegetarians), rice, fries or mixed greens and sides such as chickpeas, quinoa and lentils (by the way, they have an amazing salad called “quinoa lentils” in the sides section that has caramelized onions, feta, roasted peppers and you can add haloumi cheese - superb!).

They have a bunch of appetizers like the grilled haloumi cheese (do not expect that they will flambé it, screaming Opa like lots of restaurants do), or, when we went, they made a Greek guacamole made with avocado and tzatziki that was just ok, preferring one or the other rather than mixed…In fact, we also got their trio of dips that were eggplant, tzatziki and spicy feta that were served with crispy pieces of pita. This is a fairly classic appetizer that is great to share. One thing you should not miss is their Tiropita that is a flakey buttered phyllo filled with lots of cheese!

Of course I could not not try their grilled octopus that was served as a salad with capers for a nice acidity, onions and chickpeas. It was overall good, the octopus being well cooked, but I was surprised by the quantity of octopus for the $22 of the dish.

They have few sodas, like the carbonated lemonade we had, and several desserts, my favorite being their baklava that is flakey, buttery and is bathed in syrup. Not to be missed!

Overall, we had great meals at Plaka Souvlaki: this casual spot definitely has its place in the restaurant scene of Hoboken.

Enjoy (I did)!

If you like this post, the photos or the blog, please feel free to share it or post a comment! Merci!

Plaka Souvlaki - 62 Newark St., Hoboken, NJ 07030

Plaka Souvlaki in Hoboken, NJ

I Just Want To Eat!